Chapter 3

Tenten erupted into what seemed to be chaos in its physical form. The taller girl started jumping up and down and squealing and dancing and shaking me by my shoulders with a large grin. My reaction was quite the opposite as I stood in a trance of disbelief, most likely with my mouth hanging open in shock. "You made it! This is going to be so awesome!"

I managed to somewhat shake myself out of my stupor to notice Tsunade crack a genuine-looking smile before excusing herself. At the same time, Jiraiya and Kakashi watched Tenten shake me excitedly by my shoulders with amusement on their faces.

I…made it? I did it! There's always been a small, sad part of me that believed the terrible things my father says about me. That part was nowhere in sight once the pride and happiness of my achievement began to set in.

Before I could tell what was happening, I was being pulled along by Tenten as we followed Kakashi out of the room and through a few halls. Tenten was going on and on about how she knew I would make it, how we would be so close, and how she thought I'd fit in well with the others in the group.

I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience with a smile glued on my face and an ever-nodding head at her energetic babbling. I was still mentally trying to wrap my head around the fact that I, Hinata Hyuga, have done what no Hyuga has done before. I've taken the first step in quite the opposite path of what the Hyuugas are famous for, which proved fruitful.

The cell phone in my dress pocket began vibrating, and I pulled it out to see I had two missed calls, one from the school and one from Father.

Typically, I'd have a full-blown anxiety attack at such a sight, but this day marks a change in my timeline. No longer will I be the submissive older Hyuga sister who silently takes her family's berating comments. No, this new Hinata will do what suits her, and she'll do it all by herself.

After slipping the phone back into my dress pocket, Tenten started talking about how she noticed how cute my clothes were, how cool it was that my dress had pockets, and how annoyed she was at how small or nonexistent pockets are in female clothing. "You know why they make them like that, right?"

I noticed she had a habit of making loud gestures with her hands when she spoke, "So we'll be forced to buy handbags! It's an evil ass money scheme!" Her humorous yet incredibly true statement knocked me out of the remainder of my stupor and pulled a small laugh from my lips. She took that as a sign to continue on her tirade.

She talked to me as if we'd been friends all our lives. I learned a few things about her in the short period that we followed Kakashi through the halls. Her favorite color's green, she hates wearing makeup, loves to drink, and writes most of her own music.

What comforted me most was that she didn't mind if I just listened to her talk. The singer didn't try to make me speak when I didn't want to. It still blew my mind that one of my favorite singers was so down-to-earth and normal. The way she talked nonstop made me feel like she was alone a lot and was desperate to interact with others.

I watched her flawless tan skin start to blush lightly as she described some guy that's still a trainee that she found hot. It's even odder that someone as incredible as her wouldn't just go up to whoever she likes and ask them out. She's the whole package. Anyone, male or female, would be lucky to even be in her presence, much less go on a date.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes of dodging people in the winding halls of the agency, we made it to an elevator and stepped inside. The background noise of people bustling around on the first floor disappeared as the metal doors slid shut. Tenten quieted down as if she knew Kakashi would then start talking.

"You'll be sharing a dorm with Sakura, the other girl in your group. The two of you are in room 111 on the sixth floor. Sasuke and Gaara, the boys in your group, will be in room 113, right next door."

Wait…what? With wide eyes, I looked between him and Tenten in shock.

The latter stifled a laugh behind a hand, "You didn't know you were auditioning for a co-ed group, huh?"

I shook my head with a red face. Of course, Evolution Entertainment is famous for being one of the only talent agencies that even have co-ed groups, but I thought Kakashi would have mentioned it before now.

The CEO laughed sheepishly, "I'm sorry, Hinata, I thought I told you. Are you still wanting to accept our offer? I can keep you on as a trainee if not, but it might be a while before you're able to debut. We don't have anything in the works right now."

I nodded, worried that I couldn't handle being so close to men, "I-It's fine…." Hopefully, my new bandmates won't go out of their way to make me anxious. As long as they don't, I should be able to adjust to them slowly.

Kakashi accepted my response, and I could only nod as I received a set of keys. Tenten quickly said, "I'm in room 112, right across the hall!" Evolution's CEO glanced at her with a slight smirk before the doors opened again, and we followed him down the empty hall.

There were ten rooms on the floor, numbered 111 up. We stopped in front of room 111, and a plate on the door said Prestige-Ladies.

Kakashi knocked, and footsteps could be heard moments before the door swung open to reveal a pink-haired girl dressed in shorts and an oversized hoodie. Her hair was cut shoulder length with a side part, and she had bright green eyes and lightly tanned skin.

She seemed familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint where I'd seen her before or if I had at all.

Kakashi ushered us into the room, which was larger than I would have guessed. There was a small lounge area with a massive couch, a few bean bags, a coffee table, and a tv set.

My new roommate, who Kakashi said was named Sakura, sat beside me on the sofa. The pretty girl seemed to have been expecting us and didn't question our arrival. However, she kept glancing at me with a tense smile but didn't make any move to greet me herself.

Once the two of us were seated next to each other on the couch, Tenten and Kakashi stood opposite. After a moment of the pair studying us, Tenten busted out loudly, "I knew it! You two are so different that you look great together!"

Kakashi smiled reassuringly. "Hinata, meet Sakura. She's been training here for around three months and will be your group's more rap and dance-focused female."

I met the girl's gaze and smiled nervously, not trusting my voice just yet in the presence of my new roommate. Kakashi and Tenten stared some more as if expecting us to speak, shake hands, hug, or something, but we didn't do that. The girl gave off an aura, almost more anxious than my own.

Looking a bit disappointed, Tenten handed me a folder with a bunch of papers within, "This is your schedule for the next two weeks, the sheet music for some of the songs you'll be recording, and paperwork that'll need to be done to make you part of Evolution Entertainment officially."

Kakashi chuckled lightly at her noticeable change in mood, "You'll have to excuse her, Hinata. She isn't used to being around more reserved people. Please look over your contract carefully; call either of us if you have any questions. Our numbers are in the packet. Otherwise, please get to know your new bandmate and feel free to make arrangements for your personal items to be delivered."

He stepped forward and offered his hand for a business-like handshake. I immediately jumped to my feet, nearly dropping my mountain of papers, and shook his hand. Tenten snickered at my apparent nervousness, but I didn't take it as her making fun of me.

After Kakashi stepped out of the way, Tenten pulled me into a tight hug before rushing out of the room, but not before yelling, "You better sign those papers!" Just like that, the two were gone.

I felt a more tense air settle in the room and glanced over to see her staring without faltering. I couldn't even make out a question before she rose to her feet, walked through one of the two doors on the opposite wall, and closed it behind her.

There was a small kitchenette opposite the little lounge area, a door in that area that was half open to reveal a large bathroom, and two doors across from the exit door that I assumed were bedrooms.

I guess there's no going back to school for me today. It's not as if I needed to go. It's the last week of school, and attendance wasn't required to graduate. I could've gotten my diploma six months ago if I wanted. If anything, I earned the week away from my studies after years of perfect attendance.

My nerves shook as I glanced at the closed door the other girl had disappeared behind. She hadn't said a single word to me. Was she shy like me? Did she maybe not like me already?

Anxiety crept through me as I pulled out the contract and noticed immediately that it was for two years. Would she hate me for the entirety of our group's life? Oddly, our contract was so short, considering most talent agencies had their candidates sign on for seven or more years, but maybe it's for the best in case things didn't go well.

I tried not to make any noise as I gathered my papers and crept toward what I figured was my bedroom, the door on the left side. Past the door was a basic feminine room with floral bed coverings and a vanity mirror. No other personal objects were present, so I was correct in assuming that the room was mine. There was a large dresser, a desk, and even a keyboard with a bench.

Some of my nervousness was replaced with happiness at the sight of the familiar instrument. Saving my excitement to play it for later, I sat at my new desk and looked through the contract more thoroughly.

Of course, there's the legal stuff, like not leaving the company before the contract ends or potentially facing financial reimbursement and other preventative things that were to be expected. What I read more carefully was the contract asking me to agree to wear clothing brands, advertise the agency in a positive light to all that may inquire, and participate in any interviews requested by the agency.

I knew that agreeing to these things may contradict some of my views, but my thirst for artistic fulfillment was more important. If I have to deal with some ugly clothes to live the life I want, then so be it. I quickly signed where intended throughout the contract and sat it to the side so I could look through the remaining papers.

The schedule was for the remainder of the current week and next week. The days were packed full of all types of activities and training. Each morning for the rest of the week, I was to wake up at six, take singing lessons with Jiraiya and Tenten until noon, go to lunch and rest until two, take dance lessons with Tsunade until six, and work in the studio until nine. Then the rest of the evening was free.

Seeing as it was only Tuesday, I was preparing myself to be physically and mentally exhausted by the time the week ended. It was as though they were trying to catch up to Sakura's amount of training in just four days.

A handwritten note from Tenten at the bottom said to drink lots of water daily while limiting my talking outside of practice to preserve my voice and get plenty of sleep every night.

Despite my slight dread of meeting up with Tenten so early in the morning, I was delighted to finally receive singing lessons.

The following week's schedule was quite different and seemed to hint at things getting more intense. I'd wake each morning at six to continue my lessons with Jiraiya alone until ten, attend some kind of public relations class until noon, have a lunch break until two, then spend the rest of the day in the studio recording music and having dance practices with the rest of the group.

My head felt faint at just the thought of dancing in front of boys. I secretly hoped I wouldn't find them handsome so that I could focus solely on my personal goals, but I knew deep down that it was useless. They're celebrities in training. They'll undoubtedly be very attractive.

While I tried to guess what they'd look like, I set the schedules aside with my contract and pulled out our songs' remaining pages. I realized then that I didn't even know what genre of music we'd be representing.

Upon closer inspection of the pages, I noticed that each song differed. Excitement growing within my chest, I realized that we'd be similar to Tenten in that we don't have a set style of music. The woman was famous for being extremely versatile, and it would only make sense that the group she was producing would follow in her footsteps. As a music appreciation-ist myself, I was happy that we weren't confined to a single genre.

After looking through some of the sheet music, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket again and pulled it out to see Neji's name across my screen. With a sigh, I decided he'd be the easiest to admit to what I'd done.

With a nervous swipe, I answered the phone, "Hello?"

Neji's stern voice replied instantly, "Hinata, where are you? You didn't go to school, and your father has police searching for you." His deep voice didn't betray any emotion, but I knew that my father must've been taking his frustrations out on him since Hanabi would be at school.

"I-I'm safe, so don't worry. Tell Father he can call off the cops."

My cousin paused. It's not normal for me to be so vague in my replies, and the anxiety I felt rising in my stomach caused me to blurt out what I would otherwise have trouble admitting, "I auditioned at Evolution and m-made it!"

Neji would know what Evolution Entertainment is solely for the agency's impressive growth over the past few years. There was an even longer pause before he replied with a slightly lower voice, "Hinata, you must be joking. Where are you? I'm coming to get you."

Even if Neji was the good guy from my family, he was still a Hyuga. He disapproved of making a living off of music, even if he didn't say it as disrespectfully as Father did.

"I-I'm not kidding, Neji. I'm going to have my things brought here. I'm moving out of F-Father's house!"

The older Hyuuga paused longer, "Hinata, Hiashi will never let you stay there." He didn't say I wouldn't make it in this business, which tempted me to cry with relief.

Neji was, in a non-creepy way, what I imagined my father would be like if he were more caring. While he wasn't the most outgoing and emotional person on the planet, he had subtle ways of letting you know he was looking out for you.

"He doesn't have to let me do anything. I'm eighteen y-years old. Will you help me get my clothes?"

The whole conversation made me uncomfortable because it was new ground between Neji and me. I didn't think he'd reply at all, but after a few tense moments of silence, he sighed and whispered, just in case someone was listening, "I'm only helping you this once because I know how unhappy you'll be if you stay here."

Tears welled up in my eyes at my cousin's kindness.

"Can you get here by four?"

I looked over at the clock on the nightstand, which read three in the afternoon. I jumped to my feet and hurried toward the door with my contract in hand, "I'm leaving now; I think I can make it!"

The burst of adrenaline removed my uneasiness, and I hung up the phone before hurrying out of my room and toward the front door. After hurrying out and locking the door behind me, I turned to rush toward the elevator, only to run straight into someone hard enough for it to send me falling to my bottom.

I dropped my phone and contract, papers scattering onto the floor messily around me. I looked up to see not one but two insanely attractive young men staring down at me. One was slightly shorter than the other, with blood-red hair, green eyes, and tan skin. The other had messy black hair, black eyes, and lighter skin.

The darker-haired one scoffed and arrogantly grumbled, "Watch where you're going," before walking around me and continuing down the hall.

The redhead shook his head at his friend's rudeness and offered me a hand. It seemed I'd fallen more times in the past few days than in the past year. I gathered my dropped items and accepted his hand to get back on my feet.

After smoothing my dress, I turned to see the black-haired boy standing in the now-open doorway of room 113 with a mocking smirk, "Do you always wear granny panties?"

My face erupted into what felt like the heat of a volcano, and I felt the redhead's grip on my hand tighten as I swayed slightly, "Whoa, hey, are you okay?"

They aren't even granny panties! They're wearing regular, everyday, bikini-style underwear! My vision swirled as if a mist had formed in the hallway, and I realized too late what was happening. Of course, I'd have my first fainting spell in months in front of two modelesque boys.

Once again, I felt my contract and phone slip through my fingers, and my legs gave out before everything went black.

When I woke, I heard hushed voices become quiet. My eyes shot open, and I sat up with a gasp. I was back in the living room area of Sakura and my's room, lying on the couch, with the two men from before and my roommate herself looking at me from the dining table.

Sakura avoided my gaze; the dark-haired boy scowled, and the redhead got up to come toward me. He knelt with a blank expression before speaking in a surprisingly soft voice, "Are you alright now? Do you feel sick?" His tone sounded almost shy, but he didn't physically seem nervous, just uncomfortable.

The people in the room seemed to have adverse first impressions of me in one way or another, slowly dampening my mood. The boys had been headed to room 113, meaning all three were part of our newly formed group.

I let my eyes fall from the soft features of his face and rose to my feet.

Sakura finally spoke up; her voice sounded slightly shrill, as if she didn't want to talk but was forced to, "Your cousin called, and I answered it. He's going to be here soon."

The guy closest to me rose as I looked around frantically for my lost items, including the phone she'd mentioned. They were sitting on the table in front of the ruder of the two boys.

Anger rose as I noticed the young man had reviewed my contract. I walked past the redhead and snatched my items from the table with an unhappy glare. The dark-haired boy actually laughed at my reaction while Sakura glanced uneasily at him.

She, too, seemed unfamiliar with the two boys. Was this her first time meeting them as well? That couldn't be possible since they lived next door to each other, but she definitely seemed uneasy.

Before anyone could say anything, there was a knock at the door. The redhead turned to open it, but it shot open, and a yelling Tenten followed an annoyed-looking Neji into the dorm, both lugging large suitcases behind them. "Well, don't expect just to be let into the building because you're a Hyuuga next time! You have to wait in line for a visitor's pass just like everyone else!"

Neji's annoyed expression lessened when he met my surprised gaze. He ignored Tenten's complaining and stood straight before me with the tiniest hint of a frown on his lips, "Hinata, may I ask you one last time to return home for the sake of our family?" My cousin, as always, was straight to the point. His tone was highly formal, and I immediately knew Father had heard the news.

Everyone around us was silent, even Tenten.

"I-I want to be here, Neji." I didn't care if my whole group hated me. I'm here because I dream of making music, and not even the mighty Hiashi Hyuga can stop me.

The corner of Neji's mouth turned up slightly to let me know he was happy for me before he pulled the two suitcases into my bedroom, reappearing before us and dropping his formal demeanor, "I brought as much as I could fit. The maids helped, but I don't think you'll be allowed to get anything else."

I understood what he was saying completely.

There wasn't even a tiny chance I'd step back into my father's home and he'd let me leave again. It was unspoken but known that if I didn't return with Neji, I wouldn't be welcome back home at all. My father had finally had it with me. This was the final straw.

I thought I'd initially be upset about it but felt quite the opposite. I'd finally be done with the Hyuga and their perfection. I felt liberated.

Even if I'm not entirely sure what my future holds, I'll earn it by making my own decisions, and that's all I've ever wanted.